Skin care compositions containing retinoids have become the focus of great interest in recent years. Retinoic acid, also known as Vitamin A acid or tretinoin, is well-known for the treatment of such skin conditions as acne and products containing retinoic acid are commercially available in various forms from the Dermatological Division of Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation. Such products, for example, include Retin A, creams, an oil-in-water emulsion of retinoic acid containing as an oil-soluble antioxidant, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT); Retin A, liquid, a solution of retinoic acid in a polyethylene glycol/ethanol solvent employing BHT as an antioxidant; and Retin A, gel, which comprises retinoic acid in a gel vehicle comprising ethyl alcohol as the solvent, hydroxypropyl cellulose as the thickener or gelling agent and BHT as an antioxidant.
These retinoic acid containing products have proven stable and capable of providing active ingredients after extended periods of storage.
More recently, however, wider use of retinoids has been suggested for treatments other than acne such as, for example, the treatment of skin against photoaging and sun damage. Many individuals who have had a good deal of sun exposure in childhood will show the following gross cutaneous alterations in later adult life: wrinkling, leatheriness, yellowing, looseness, roughness, dryness, mottling (hyperpigmentation) and various premalignant growths (often subclinical). These changes are most prominent in light-skinned persons who burn easily and tan poorly. These cumulative effects of sunlight are often referred to as "photoaging". Although the anatomical degradation of the skin is most advanced in the elderly, the destructive effects of excessive sun exposure are already evident by the second decade. Serious microscopic alterations of the epidermis and dermis occur decades before these become clinically visible. Wrinkling, yellowing, leatheriness and loss of elasticity are very late changes.
The problem of skin aging is addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,146 wherein Vitamin A acid in an emollient vehicle is suggested as a treatment. Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,805, it is suggested that a number of retinoids are useful for restoring and reversing sun damage of human skin.
European Patent Publication No. 0 396 184 to Cauwenbergh suggests that ketoconazole may be used in combination with an appropriate retinoid for the topical treatment of acne, hyperkeratotic dermatoses and photoaging of skin. The retinoids suggested for use in this combination are all-trans retinoic acid (tretinoin) or 13-cis retinoic acid (isotretinoin). The combination of ketoconazole and the retinoid may be applied as a single mixture or as two separate compositions. Cauwengbergh suggests that when the retinoid and ketoconazole are used in combination, they may each potentiate the activity of the other. The pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts of the ketoconazole may be used in this combination as well.
When considering the use of retinoids in skin care products, it is believed that certain retinoids such as, for example, retinol (Vitamin A alcohol), retinal (Vitamin A aldehyde) and retinyl esters such as retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate would be preferred over retinoic acid. A preferred form is retinol. This is because retinol is an endogenous compound naturally occurring in the human body and essential for good growth, differentiation of epithelial tissues and reproduction. Retinol is also preferred because it has a much larger safety margin than other retinoids such as retinoic acid. Additionally, excess retinol is stored in the human body largely in an inactive ester form, e.g. retinyl palmitate and, to some extent, retinyl acetate. The aldehyde, retinal, also a preferred form, is an active metabolite of retinol and is needed for visual function. Accordingly, attention has turned toward formulating skin care compositions which contain these preferred, naturally occurring retinoids.
In formulating products containing such retinoids, the same properties sought with respect to the retinoic acid formulas are desirable for other retinoid containing compositions. Specifically, much attention is directed toward providing a composition which is aesthetically pleasing and which can deliver active ingredients after a substantial shelf life. Not surprising, in formulating products containing such retinoids, the art is led to the experience gained in the already existing formulas containing retinoic acid. Typically, such formulas comprise oil-in-water emulsions wherein the retinoic acid is carried within the oil phase and is protected from oxidation by employing an oil-soluble antioxidant. With respect to the form of the emulsion, oil-in-water emulsions have been preferred in that, as compared to water-in-oil emulsions for example, they are non-occlusive, non-greasy, compatible with other such emulsion products, easy to remove from the skin and are regarded as more aesthetically pleasing as well as being more economical to manufacture. With respect to chemical stability of the active ingredient, it has been experienced that the retinoic acid in the oil phase is, in the main, well protected by including in such oil phase an oil soluble antioxidant.
Thus, for example, the aforementioned Retin A* cream is an oil-in-water emulsion containing retinoic acid and BHT, an oil-soluble antioxidant. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,108 there is disclosed an oil-in-water emulsion of retinoic acid which may include an oil-soluble antioxidant such as BHT or dl-.alpha.-tocopherol and a chelating agent e.g. ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). In U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,805, a tanning composition is described which may include, among other ingredients Vitamin A in an oil-in-water emulsion containing Vitamin E and citric acid. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,547 still another form of a retinoic acid containing composition, namely a gel, is disclosed and is protected by an antioxidant selected from the group consisting of butylated hydroxytoluene, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), propyl gallate, and .alpha.-tocopherol Vitamin E).
The above-described retinoic acid containing compositions have proven to be, or are said to be, chemically stable. Therefore, a number of skin care products have appeared in the marketplace incorporating other retinoids, including for example retinol, retinal and retinyl esters such as retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate, and these unsurprisingly emulate the formulas of the commercial retinoic acid compositions i.e. are oil-in-water emulsions protected by oil-soluble antioxidants. Unfortunately and unexpectedly, it has been discovered that for reasons not yet clearly understood, the other retinoids in such compositions quickly lose their activity and either oxidize or isomerize to non-efficacious chemical forms with the result that the amount of retinoid actually available to provide the beneficial effects of the product is reduced, in an unacceptably short period of time, to an ineffective quantity and eventually to only trace quantities.
Generally then, products containing retinoids have been limited to oil-in-water emulsions and, with respect to those other than retinoic acid, have suffered from chemical instability. In a few instances, however, products and/or suggestions for products have been made wherein retinoids such as retinol, retinyl acetate and retinyl palmirate are formulated in water-in-oil emulsions.
Thus, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,828 it is suggested that a stable composition comprising retinol, retinyl acetate and retinyl palmirate may consist of retinol in a water-in-oil emulsion wherein the emulsion further include two oil-soluble antioxidants, BHT and BHA.
Further, Avon Products, Inc., the assignee of U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,828, sells two skin care products called Bioadvance and Bioadvance 2000. Each of these products is supplied in two bottles, portions of which are mixed together just prior to use. The first bottle contains what is called a "skin lotion", while the second bottle contains what is called a "fortifier". The "skin lotion" is a water-in-oil emulsion having a number of ingredients which include water, emulsifiers, silicone and vegetable oils, preservatives, emollients and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The "fortifier" is a solution which contains a number of ingredients including cyclomethicone (a silicone oil), denatured ethanol, an emulsifier (Polysorbate 20), retinol, retinyl acetate, retinyl palmitate, BHT and BHA. When a specified portion of the "fortifier" is added to a specified portion of the "skin lotion" and mixed, there results a water-in-oil emulsion which comprises retinol, retinyl acetate, retinyl palmitate, BHT and BHA, the latter being oil-soluble antioxidants. The outer package in which Bioadvance is supplied carries a statement which says "Because BIOADVANCE begins to lose effectiveness after one month, for maximum benefits, use a fresh supply each month". It would appear from this statement that the chemical stability of the retinoids in the mixture of the "skin lotion" and the "fortifier" is quite limited. The fact that in both the BIOADVANCE and BIOADVANCE 2000 products the "fortifier" ingredients must be mixed with the "skin lotion" ingredients immediately prior to use indicates that the resulting water-in-oil emulsion which is applied to the skin also has limited chemical stability of one or more of the above-mentioned retinol, retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate.
Further still, U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,353 to Bell discloses water-in-oil emulsion carriers for various medicaments and drugs intended for topical application to the skin. Water soluble, miscible or dispersible drugs may be incorporated into the aqueous phase of the emulsion. Oil-soluble, miscible or dispersible drugs may be incorporated into the oil phase. Drugs which may be incorporated into the emulsion include derivatives of retinoic acid. Ingredients which may optionally be added to the emulsion include a preservative such as methyl paraben, propyl paraben or imidazolidinyl urea or an antioxidant such as butylated hydroxyanisole and a water or oil soluble vitamin such as vitamin C, tocopherol linoleate and the like.
Still further, EP 0 343 444 A2 to Siemer et al discloses cosmetic preparations based on retinyl palmitate. Example 3 discloses a night cream in the form of a water-in-oil type emulsion comprising retinyl palmitate and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). Example 4 discloses a water-in-oil emulsion comprising retinyl acetate and .alpha.-Tocopherol (Vitamin E).
Still further, EP 0 330 496 A2 to Batt is directed to skin treatment compositions comprising a topically acceptable base and an effective amount of at least one ester of retinol, said compositions being useful in the treatment of photoaged skin. Example 6 discloses a water-in-oil emulsion comprising Vitamin A propionate and BHT, an oil-soluble antioxidant.
It would be desirable to have a stable composition containing non-retinoic acid retinoids and an imidazole. Unfortunately, the prior art attempts to emulate the stability of retinoic acid containing compositions have been unsuccessful and in each case result in substantial and unacceptable chemical instability of the retinol, retinal or retinoic esters employed therein. Thus, there is a need for a composition in which non-retinoic acid retinoids and imidazoles may be combined in a chemically stable form.